Category: News

I wanted to take a ludicrously early look at next year’s team and make some guesses as to what the lineup might look like.  You might think that this coming year will be easy to predict, but with only two Point Guards on the team, and both freshmen, things may not be so clear.  I’m going to start the several part discussion with the players we know well, then tomorrow discuss the new blood and finally on friday take a shot at what the depth chart might look like at the start of the season.

David Lighty (6-5, 225, SF, Senior)

I’ll keep this discussion in seniority order, meaning that the last of the Thad Five gets to go first.  It’s hard to imagine that David Lighty has been here for 5 years, and that all of his classmates were gone long ago.  Hell, it almost feels like he’s been here forever – certainly not a bad thing.  Lighty has been a consistent presence on the team and has been the defacto team leader since his junior year.  His leadership that year was readily apparent when he broke his left foot and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season.  The Buckeyes struggled the rest of the way without him and were forced to grow into new roles that helped the 2009 version of the team excel.

Speaking of that break, it was recently reported that Lighty again broke that left foot during spring practices.  The recuperation from the surgery to repair the break is expected to take about 12 weeks, which should leave plenty of time for him to bounce back before fall practices begin.

Lighty has been and almost certainly will be a Small Forward.  He plays very well in his role and has, on infrequent occasion, exploded on the score boards to the tune of 30 points.  Those sorts of games need to be more the rule and less the exception if he wants to take his game to the next level.  I think he’s poised to have a very solid year for the Buckeyes.

Jon Diebler (6-6, 210, SG, Senior)

We all know “Threebler” quite well.  The three point shooting master had some rough going in his time in the scarlet and gray through his first couple seasons, but he really took strides in this last season in building his confidence.  Shooting is all confidence so you can expect Diebler to be even more lethal next year from beyond the arc.

One key component to making Diebler a consistent scoring threat will be how hard he works in the offseason working on his dribble drive and lane penetration.  He showed flashes during the season of developing that sort of skill set which began to force defenders to back off him a tad and opened up his three point shooting.  Unfortunately, the instances of it were few and far between which allowed good defensive teams to shut him down.

There is only one position that makes sense for Diebler – at the 2 slot.  With a decent dribble drive, he could make a potent 3-guy, but he’s played the 2 for three years and will likely play the 2 in the NBA so there’s little sense in changing him around.

Dallas Lauderdale (6-8, 260, PF/C, Senior)

Towards the end of last season, we began to see a glimpse of what Lauderdale could become when he understood his role in the offense.  To that point Lauderdale had been nothing more than a Shot-blocking, (inconsistent) rebounding role-player who could score a couple of points a game.  Suddenly, however, the Buckeyes were finding ways of getting him the ball so that he could score and make a significant impact on the score board.  A couple of 10 point games later and the entire perception of Lauderdale as a player changed.

I’ve long thought that the reason Lauderdale struggles so much in scoring and rebounding is because he fits more naturally at the 4 rather than the 5.  He’d play significantly better in a role similar to Othello Hunter did in his first season playing both PF in support of Greg Oden, and C when Oden was resting.  Lauderdale is a capable 5, but it’s not his strongest position.  Given a couple years of experience in the spot, though, Lauderdale may be redefining his role.

William Buford (6-5, 200, G, Junior)

Buford is the clear heir-apparent to the mantle of “Team Star”.  He has shown flashes of brilliance and more in his 2 seasons under Matta and looks to take a big step towards becoming a consistent and powerful threat shooting the ball.  He has the sweetest shooting stroke on the team and simply makes shooting look easy and natural, no matter how challenging the shot.

He’s not as natural of a ball-handler as Evan Turner was (this is absolutely not a knock on Buford – I’ve seen very few college ball-handlers look as natural as Turner) so it’s doubtful that we will see him get plugged into the 1 position.  That said, it’s possible given the youth at that position.  Keep in mind that Matta’s philosophy depends more on getting the best talent on the floor as much as possible and less on sticking to the traditional PG, SG, SF, PF, C concepts.  If Buford can learn to dictate the offense and can bring the ball up the floor effectively we may see him in the 1.  He’s a more natural 2/3 guy, though, and it seems likely that he will find his place there during the season.

Nikola Kecman (6-8, 225, PF, Junior)

Those of you who followed the Buckeye Battle Cry through the 2009-2010 season know that I have a strong liking for Mr. Kecman as a player.  Nikola did not get many opportunities to see the floor during the season, playing almost exclusively in mop-up duty with “Big Z” Sarikopoulos, Mark “The Shark” Titus, Eddie Days and Danny Peters.  In those times, however, the 6-8 forward showed an ability to shoot the long-ball and really challenge the defense with his size and versatility.  There’s a chance we may get to see more of Kecman this season, depending on how fast the younger players develop into Matta’s system.

There’s no question in my mind that Kecman should play the 4 spot.  With his shooting range and height he will give opposing defenses a headache and open up passing lanes into the paint for the big guys.

Zisis Sarikopoulos (7-0, 265, C, Junior)

Big Z is the heir to the title of “Buckeye 7-footer” following in the footsteps of Oden, Koufos and Mullens.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t yet grown to fill the shoes of those players yet, having only played in mop-up duty thus far.  Interestingly, each of the Buckeye’s 7-footers have become progressively less of an impact on the team.  Oden was a massive impact.  Koufos started and played reasonably well despite being a “Black Hole” (ball goes in, and never comes out).  Mullens was a bench player behind Lauderdale who played decent minutes, and finally Big Z mostly rode the pine.  It leaves one to wonder if Matta is deciding that the 7-footer just isn’t his style, what with the continuous play of the 6-8 Lauderdale and the recruitment of 6-9 Jared Sullinger to play Center.

It’s also possible that Sarikopoulos just needs more time in the program before becoming an effective player, much like Kecman.  We’ll just have to wait and see if he makes a significant impact sometime in the future.

Eddie Days (6-0, 180, G, Senior)

Days was the player that almost no-one knew about from last season.  Eddie participated in walk-on tryouts last fall and managed to make the team in October after already spending 3 years at Ohio State as your typical, everyday student.  He played nothing more than mop up duty in 4 games and compiled almost no stats in his grand total 7 minutes of play.  The likelihood of Eddie seeing the court much this year is probably still low, which probably plays into his plans a little bit as it seems he wants to go into the coaching profession.

Maybe he’ll be the next voice from the OSU Bench?  You never know!

Tomorrow I’ll take a look at that ridiculous recruiting class Matta pulled in.  There are some pretty good looking players on that list, and there is more than a little to get excited about for next season.

Memo to U.S. House:  It ain’t a “spill,” it’s an undersea volcano spewing 3 million gallons a day — two Exxon Valdezes a week.  That’s the point of this hearing.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, but you can today 2 pm edt– click here.

I definitely think it worth watching given who the witnesses are:

Steve Wereley, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University

Richard Camilli, Associate Scientist, Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Michael Freilich, Director of the Earth Science Division, NASA

Frank Muller-Karger, Professor of Biological Oceanography and Remote Sensing, University of South Florida

Werely has been all over the news and the source of many of the figures that I have cited — see Should you believe anything BP says?

Finally, here’s a good piece from The Atlantic, “Why BP Won’t Measure the Oil Spill.”

There will never be anything quite like the mix tape. For better or worse, it really changed the way people listened to music. So it’s sort of bittersweet to see Sony releasing its final cassette-playing boom box ever. More »










Boombox – Business – Audio – Sony – Music

Todos recordamos el accidente que Fernando Alonso sufrió en los últimos entrenamientos libres del reciente GP de Mónaco 2010, lo cual le impidió poder participar en la sesión de clasificación.

El comunicado oficial afirmaba que no podia ser reparado ya que sólo se contaba con media hora de tiempo para hacerlo. Tras finalizar dicho gran premio y analizar detenidamente dicho monoplaza, se ha comunicado que no podrá ser reparado finalmente.

Tras esto, la escudería Ferrari cuenta con un chasis menos para lo que resta de temporada y en los próximos días tendrán que decidir que chasis llevarán Felipe Massa y Fernando Alonso en el inminente GP de Turquía 2010.

Related posts:

1. GP de Mónaco 2010, Mark Webber campeón, doblete de Red Bull e increible remontada de Fernando Alonso
2. Fernando Alonso se viste de rojo por primera vez
3. Fernando Alonso afirma que el regreso de Michael Schumacher es bueno para la Fórmula 1

A recent op-ed by Chris Conklin in The Sun News of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, voiced frustration over the cascading closures now hitting the Southeast. Conklin comes from a fishing family and wonders if he’ll be able to stay in the fishing industry unless catch shares are instituted. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is considering a number of options – including catch shares – to reduce fishing closures and get fishermen back on the water.

Read the full post »

by Steve Cowell

Now that it has passed the House of Representatives with flying colors (246 to 161), we are thisclose to making Home Star a reality. This is the plan, supported on both sides of the aisle, that would give U.S. homeowners rebates for energy-efficiency improvements that cut energy consumption. Most importantly, Home Star will put many of the country’s construction folks and blue-collar wage earners back to work, so let’s get it passed in the Senate and on President Obama’s desk already!

The bill has unique bipartisan support and is backed by one of the largest coalitions to hit Washington in years. In just a few months, the Home Star Coalition has signed more than 1,300 members. Supporters come from labor unions, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, contractors, retailers, utilities, and regulators, to name a few groups. We’re gaining more ground every day and the time is right for Congress to make it into law.  But first a little history:

Home Star was introduced to The White House in November 2009. The concept was so well-received, Home Star was unanimously voted for by the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board the following month. Since then, this plan to weatherize America’s homes has undergone much review and analysis by a coalition of more than 1,000 stakeholders, the Senate, the House, and the administration. Its pros and cons have been analyzed, dissected, and debated on blogs, TV, and in mainstream newspapers for months now. It is time to move past the talk and get to the action. 

Home Star will put hundreds of thousands of people back to work and provide economic recovery to a large number of blue-collar workers hit hardest by this recession.

The disparity between blue- and white-collar workers who have been affected by the economy is striking—one in five workers in blue collar industries across America is jobless. On the other hand, those making $150,000 a year or more are barely impacted. (Three percent are unemployed as of this writing.) These are the findings of a study [PDF] authored by Professor Andrew Sum, Northeastern University’s director of the Center for Labor Market Studies. In a radio interview earlier this year, he said, “It’s The Great Depression for blue-collar workers—with dire implications for society … this rate of joblessness is greater than any post-wartime period in history.”

Home Star will benefit unemployed blue-collar laborers and experienced workers who have lost jobs in construction and manufacturing because their skills can be easily adapted. Beyond retrofitting, Home Star will have a ripple effect, creating jobs in other areas such as retailing, trucking, and manufacturing. In fact, U.S. factories will crank out 92 percent of the products needed to support the program, from insulation to replacement windows.

Home Star will also help cash-strapped homeowners defray the costs of investments that will lower their energy bills. It would provide rebates of $1,000 to $1,500 for insulation, duct, and air sealing, installation of more energy-efficient equipment, and other items at a “Silver Star” level. For more comprehensive home energy improvements (“Gold Star level”), consumers would receive a federal rebate of up to $3,000 for retrofits that result in savings of 20 percent. And the higher the energy savings achieved, the higher the rebate, up to $8,000.  

Homeowners who use less energy can create an economic environment that can help ease problems in the housing market. Not coincidentally, the mortgage default crisis occurred at exactly the same time that energy prices spiked in 2007 and 2008. High energy bills may only be one factor in pushing a homeowner over the edge. But the correlation between high energy bills and a family’s ability to afford a mortgage payment is a direct one.

The icing on the cake is that Home Star will help preserve the environment. Residential buildings generate more than 20 percent of our nation’s carbon dioxide emissions—twice what automobiles emit. Existing techniques and technologies in energy-efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by 30 percent per home and lower associated greenhouse-gas emissions significantly. Total associated savings in home energy bills is estimated to be as much as $9.4 billion over 10 years. Not a bad return on a $6 billion investment in Home Star!

If Home Star passes, programs will be set up here in America, right now. Its unemployed citizens can finally get back to work. Retrofit workers will earn decent wages, spurring new opportunities for themselves and their families. The societal benefits of Home Star are infinite.

By enacting Home Star, we can help end The Great Blue Collar Depression and keep our economy on the road to recovery.
 

Related Links:

Ask Umbra on pasta, Clorox wipes, and a satisfied customer

Library offers plug-in home energy monitors

CBO stumbles into the green jobs debate

Italdesign Giugiaro has produced a bunch of stunning designs including their famous take on the Mustang with the Ford Mustang Giugiaro Concept; the Italdesign Giugiaro Quaranta Concept; and most recently, their take on the subcompact market with the Italdesign Emas Concept. It seems their work has been so impressive that it has caught the eyes of executives over at Volkswagen AG.

According to two industry sources that talked to Automotive News Europe, Volkswagen AG will buy a controlling stake in Italdesign Giugiaro SpA, Italy’s largest design and engineering firm. Sources said that the announcement could come as early as next week.

Italdesign is privately owned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, 71, who serves as chairman, and his son Fabrizio, 45, who leads the design and model division. The company has about 975 employees.

The move is in line with Volkswagen’s plan to become the world’s largest automaker by 2018 with sales of more than 10 million vehicles annually. To reach that goal, along with its merger of Porsche, Volkswagen will need more designers and engineers.

Volkswagen has plans to add 60 models in 2010 alone, including upgrades to current models.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

In what is said to be another clash of the year for the Senatorial seat, a retiree from US service emerged victorious against an incumbent official.

Pennsylvania’s focal point is directed to the state’s battle of two Democrats for the captain’s wheel. Senator Arlen Specter, a Democrat who abandoned the Republicans April of last year (2009) was hard hit by the public’s misery and rage. Being an upfront supporter of Barack Obama and the President’s policies, Specter votes experienced sudden surge downwards. The person taking over the chieftain chair is Representative Joe Sestak, another Democrat. Sestak, a retired US admiral received overwhelming support from the party’s left wing or segment.

After austerely losing to Sestak, Specter delivered a message to the state:

“It’s been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania. And I’ll be working hard for the people of Pennsylvania very hard for the coming months.”

With Rep. Joe Sestak’s poll triumph, he is now tasked to braze out and confront a former Republican loyalist in the Congress- Pat Toomey.

On a separate story, Democratic Party’s Mark Critz won PA-12 by defeating Republican’s bet Tim Burns in the elections.

Related posts:

1. Updates on the United Kingdom General Election, 2010
2. Congressman Bart Stupak Retires After Maltreatment
3. Schwarzenegger Supports Health Care Reform

I didn’t get a substantive response from the National Counterterrorism Center or its director, Michael Leiter, to yesterday’s Senate report singling it out for failure in the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab case. Instead, I got pointed to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s Wheatena-flavored reply. That might reflect the comfort Leiter has felt since the chairwoman of the committee that authored the report, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and the White House counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, embraced Leiter back in January, when the near-miss attack was at its most politically potent.

Jeff Stein of The Washington Post wants to dislodge Leiter from that comfort — and, for that matter, his job.

If U.S. intelligence hasn’t completely eluded accountability — and there’s widespread doubt about that — then somebody’s got to take the fall.

Why not start with Leiter?

What’s with the AT-ATmania lately? I guess it’s the Empire Strikes Back’s 30th Anniversary, but this is excessive. We are besieged by AT-AT boomboxes, bunk beds, gadget holders, and the obligatory special edition toys. And now, this AT-AT wedding cake. More »










Walker – starwars – cake – Shopping – Home

A running theme on this blog is the frightful sight of herbs and betas performing slow motion self-emasculations. While the herb and the beta are closely related, there are some notable differences between them.

In this post, I defined the herb:

*herb, noun – a schlumpy, nondescript white guy with no fashion sense, chin, or sexual gravitas, who has managed to hook up with a cute chick. Herbs usually wear satchels to nightclubs and button down collar shirts with the Hanes undershirt peaking through at the neck. They love anything khaki and are not embarrassed to be seen wearing fanny packs or sandals. A super herb takes it up a notch with white athletic socks and an extra-large t-shirt to hide his man boobs. They have a walk that can be best described as looking like they are carrying a load in their pants. They will annoy you just by being there. The fact that a herb will have usually managed to score a cute yuppie chick will fill you with violent feelings toward him.

You can see another great photo of a herb here. And here. And here is an example of the subspecies hipster herb.

How does a beta differ from a herb? In this post there is a photo of a beta revealing his true nature with an awkwardly placed hand on a cute girl’s shoulder. The biggest difference is that the herb usually has better *conventionally defined* success with women. The herb is not necessarily beta, though he often is. Many herbs in the city can be seen taking long romantic walks with decent looking girlfriends, defying all logic and universal laws. Herbs, therefore, have some preternatural ability to squeak out a semblance of a normal life, despite their shortcomings. Perhaps it is that they are oblivious to their self-defeating behavior, and so attract the type of women for whom dating an oblivious man suits their agenda.

Betas (and omegas), in contrast, struggle to achieve the societally-approved provider chump role to a sexless, ungrateful, Entitled American Princess. They are a more pitiable creature than the herb because their fruitless struggle often results in the stink of desperation trailing them wherever they go. The herb, to his credit, rarely reeks of desperation (until he is dumped), probably owing to the aforementioned obliviousness. Betas are more apt to look like they’re trying too hard, which is why you’ll often see better-dressed betas roaming the streets alone while schleppy herbs shuffle contentedly holding hands with their girlfriends.

In short, betas are the type of guys to spend years with internet porn and video games, while herbs are the type of guys to dutifully push strollers for kids that, unbeknownst to them, aren’t theirs. In the end, though, both betas and herbs wind up fulfilling their role as soulsucked providers to harridan wives, ensuring that the cogs of society remain greased with the sweat of their brows and the tithe of their taxes.

A few more differences between betas and herbs:

beta – dog
herb – dog in a stroller
beta – worries that wife is cheating on him
herb – has no idea wife is cheating on him
beta – wants to be alpha
herb – has no concept of the better life
beta – envious of men with hotter girfriends
herb – chastises himself for admiring classic beauty of older susan sarandon
beta – resigned
herb – compliant
beta – stymied sex drive
herb – borderline androgynous
beta – brain loaded with lies
herb – pants loaded

Reader Carol (a self-described Amazon alpha female) sent me a pic of what she termed a “beta boy”, shopping in Chicago with his girlfriend.

She wrote this about the pic:

My sister is an avid reader of your blog and she introduced me to it.  I check it out from time to time.

I see Beta Boys all over the city of Chicago. Since I got my new iphone…it only makes sense to try and snap pics of these betas. Unfortunately the iphone does not zoom.  But I’m working on this. [ed: if you’re a beta or herb, now you have more to worry about — chicks taking your photo for mockery on this blog.]

Check out this beta cubs fan wearing his girlfriend’s purse.  I had to do a freaking triple take to be sure he was not gay. No, he was wearing her purse. Following her all around the store as she flipped through racks of clothes. Mind you, this was post Cubs game…so they were probably drunk as well.

Jesus. I would never ask a man to hold my purse.  Let alone a sparkly shining number that announces to everyone your man is carrying your purse.

Yeah, this is pretty bad. For this man’s sake, let’s hope drunkenness was his excuse. It’s not even OK to hold your woman’s purse for a second so she can grab at something (let it drop to the floor or put it on a shelf if she tries to shove her purse in your hands); it’s leagues worse to take her purse and then wear it around like it’s your own, while following her like a puppy dog as she rifles through racks of discount panties. This guy looks very comfortable wearing her purse slung over his shoulder like that, as if he’s done it before.

I would classify this guy as a herb if he sees nothing wrong with this picture. Otherwise, he’s a garden variety beta asking “how high” when his girlfriend tells him to jump.

Filed under: Beta, Tool Time

Talking and texting on cell phones while driving might be banned in many states, but will it some day be the norm to use social networks and communication applications on screens embedded in vehicles? If the work recently created by the students at University of Michigan, in conjunction with Ford, Microsoft and Intel, is any indicator, there will be as many innovative social applications connecting us in our vehicles as there are on our Internet-connected laptops.

Take the Caravan Tracker, an application made by Team Bob Cat from the University of Michigan, which enables multiple cars to connect while on car trips in order to share information about how much gas is left in the fuel tanks, competing fuel economy between the cars, shared routes, and land marks and gas stations on the route ahead. Team Bob Cat has been testing out the application on their very own road trip this week, which will end on Friday with an appearance at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif.

Other applications made by the students use in-vehicle social networking to help cut fuel consumption. The Fuel Tracker, made by Team Armadillo at the University of Michigan, records the real-time fuel economy of a vehicle and then compares that fuel economy to peers. The in-vehicle dashboard enables the driver to see other drivers that have driven the same, or similar routes, and suggests the best route for the best fuel economy. Another student team created an in-vehicle social ride-sharing platform, which can encourage on-the-go carpooling, and provides a rating and recommendation system for its users.

A fourth interesting app that’s a twist on in-vehicle traffic data is the crowd-sourced traffic mapping system called NostraMap, made by another group of students. Drivers can update the service in real time by noting where accidents or traffic backups have occurred, and the touchscreen system allows the driver to, for example, scrawl a quick “A” for “accident” on the screen with a fingertip.

The video below gives some quick interviews with the teammates and professors who were involved in the class, and you can check out this Facebook page for videos on all of the students’ applications. Is this the future of our connected vehicles?

For more research on connected cars check out GigaOM Pro (subscription required):

Report: IT Opportunities in Electric Vehicle Management

The Developer’s Guide to Home Energy Management Apps

Why Microsoft’s Electric Vehicle Deal With Ford Matters

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The bulls staged another run and briefly managed to get the Dow down just 50, but they can’t sustain it.

What’s going on?

You know the drill:

EURO EURO EURO EURO EURO EURO EURO, GERMANY, EURO.

All pretty straightforward stuff.

Meanwhile, European markets fell hard, lead to the downside by France’s CAC-40.

One interesting stock to watch: Goldman Sachs (GS) had been higher throughout the morning, but is now slightly in the red.

Join the conversation about this story »

Is this the near-future of aviation, since peak oil production is coming sooner than expected?

MIT-Designed Futuristic Airplanes Use 70% Less Fuel Than Current Models

What will the airplanes of the future be like? This is the question that the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT tried to answer for NASA. The goal was to look 3 generations ahead of the current planes (that’s around the 2035 timeframe) and improve substantially on current tech in the areas of fuel-efficiency, noise, NOx emissions, safety, etc. Two plane designs came out of the research project; one to replace the current Boeing 737, and the other to replace the 777. Read on for more details.

180-Passenger D Series [image below, from MIT]

The smaller of the two designs, the 180-passenger D “double bubble” series plane would be used for domestic flights. Built with current conventional aluminum and current jet technology, it would burn about 50% less fuel than a 737. But if it used more advanced materials and jet tech, fuel savings could be as high as 70%. That’s very significant, especially if oil-based fuel is replaced with advanced biofuels made without fossil-fuel inputs.

350-Passenger H Series [image at top, from MIT]
The bigger of the two planes is the 350-passenger H “hybrid wing body” series that would replace the 777 for international flights. One interesting result from using the flying-wing approach: “The large center body creates a forward lift that eliminates the need for a tail to balance the aircraft.” The H would also meet NASA’s 70% fuel reduction target, as well as the 75% NOx emission reduction goal.

Using Ice to Cool Down the Grid

Over the next few weeks, a consortium of municipal utilities in California will begin retrofitting government offices and commercial properties with systems that use ice made at night to replace air-conditioning during the day. It’s part of a pilot program for the devices, which are built by Windsor, CO-based Ice Energy. If widely deployed, they could reduce fuel consumption by utilities by up to 30 percent and put off the need for new power plants.

The first devices will be installed on about two dozen city-owned buildings in Glendale, CA, under the plan being coordinated by the Southern California Public Power Authority. Over the next two years, the 11 participating utilities will install 1,500 of the devices, providing a total of 53 megawatts of energy storage to relieve strain on the region’s electrical grid. The project is the first large-scale implementation of Ice Energy’s technology.

Each Ice Energy device is designed to make ice overnight, when demand for electricity is low, using a high-efficiency compressor to freeze 450 gallons of water. Around midday, the cooling mode kicks in, and the device shuts off the building’s regular air conditioner for a six-hour cycle. It pipes a stream of coolant from the slowly melting block of ice to an evaporator coil installed within the building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning blower system. Once the ice is melted, the air conditioner returns to normal operation. Brian Parsonnet, Ice Energy’s chief technology officer, says the Ice Bear can cut a building’s power consumption by 95 percent during peak hours on the hottest days.

Cutting demand for electricity during peak hours reduces the need to build new power plants. It also allows utilities to rely on their most efficient power plants, says Ronald Domitrovic, a senior project manager for electric utilization at the Electric Power Research Institute. He says that when utilities fire up their “least efficient, oldest, and least desirable” generating resources to meet peak demand, every increment of increased power on the grid sends costs surging, whether one is talking fuel costs, greenhouse gas emissions, or service reliability. However, at night, utilities draw on their most efficient power plants, which use less fuel than power plants used only during peak hours. The utility also saves energy at other points in the grid–for example, cooler power lines at night transmit electricity more efficiently.

Mighty River Plans More Investment in U.S. Geothermal Projects

Mighty River Power Ltd., operator of the world’s largest single-turbine geothermal generating unit, has increased funding to help identify and build power projects in the U.S. and Chile.

The company today announced a $107 million investment in a $400 million, 49.9 megawatt geothermal power plant in Southern California, its first in the U.S. The New Zealand government- owned generator said it has also more than doubled to $250 million a fund available for projects identified by its Denver, Colorado-based associate GeoGlobal Energy LLC.

“GGE’s capability in identifying potential projects in the U.S. as well as Chile has really started to bear fruit,” Mighty River Chief Executive Officer Doug Heffernan said in a phone interview from Auckland today. “We think there are some other prospects that they may well bring to the table in the U.S. over the next two or three years.”

Mighty River is among the world’s 10 largest operators of underground steam fields. It’s investing internationally to profit from its experience building large-scale geothermal power projects, its relationships with bankers and plant manufacturers, and increasing global demand for non-polluting energy.

Geothermal plants tap heat from the earth to power turbines and generate electricity 24 hours a day with minimal emissions. New Zealand, Chile and the west coast of the U.S. lie on the 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) chain of active volcanoes that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. The zone, known as the Ring of Fire, also includes Japan and Indonesia.

Obama proposes $800M fund to clean, redevelop shuttered GM plants

The Obama administration announced plans today to create an $800 million fund to clean up and redevelop more than 90 former General Motors Co. plants shuttered during the automaker’s restructuring.

The plan still needs approval from state officials and the bankruptcy court overseeing Motors Liquidation, the “Old GM” that was broken off during the bankruptcy process, but the administration said it hopes to have the trust up and running by the end of this year.

The fund would include roughly $530 million for environmental cleanup with another $300 million available for other costs, such as demolition of unwanted buildings, property taxes and plant security. It would be paid for with money set aside during the restructuring process, which was overseen by President Obama’s auto task force, and is not expected to require additional federal cash.

The cleanup fund will be overseen by U.S. EPA and the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers.

“We are making a significant investment in better health, a cleaner environment and a brighter future in communities that need our support,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said. “Supporting the restoration of polluted sites not only protects human health and the environment, it also fosters new economic possibilities, makes these communities more competitive and opens pathways to long-term success.”

The fund is only for former GM plants and does not cover shuttered sites owned by Chrysler Group LLC, which also received billions of dollars in federal aid to undergo massive restructuring.

Google searches for smart, green energy investments

Google is looking to expand into the energy smart meters business and to invest in renewable generation projects in Europe, the head of green business operations at the internet giant said on Tuesday.

The aim of smart metering technology is to let customers view real-time electricity and gas consumption and allow them to optimize usage and therefore cut energy waste and save money by using energy during low demand periods.

Through Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the internet firm, the company has developed a free web-based application called PowerMeter which collects data from smart meters and displays the data on a customizable customer webpage.

“We’re looking at getting more utility partners and more device partners. We’re always looking for a broader reach and we’re talking to utilities in all the major markets,” Ben Kott told Reuters on the sidelines at a news briefing in London.

In partnership with British independent energy retailer, First Utility, Google is providing an opt-in service to the utility’s 30,000 smart meter customers.

“I think in the UK, people are relatively open to this, not only focusing on cost but also efficiency. It is also a highly liberal energy market, so there are opportunities for companies like First Utility who wouldn’t be able to operate in other markets,” Kott said.

He said there were no plans to charge for the PowerMeter web application.

“There’s no money going backwards and forwards,” First Utility chief executive Mark Daeche said.

Google is also looking at investing in renewable power generation projects in Europe, following a $38.8 million U.S. wind farm investment in North Dakota in early May.

Malaysia Spearheads Clean Energy Bank for Islamic Nations

Malaysia is prepared to spearhead the creation of a clean energy development bank for Islamic countries, Prime Minister Najib Razak today.

Clean energy and security of energy supply are “becoming a priority for countries with few, if any, hydrocarbon resources,” Najib said in a speech at the World Islamic Forum in Kuala Lumpur today. “There is tremendous potential for the development of alternative energy sources.”

The so-called Clean Energy Development Bank would accelerate the development of clean energy-related industries in developing countries of 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, he said, adding that the initiative will be further discussed at the forum tomorrow.

The Kyoto climate-protection treaty expires in 2012 and negotiators are trying to work out new mechanisms to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The Copenhagen summit last year failed to lead to a binding agreement, with negotiators settling for a more limited political accord.

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All week, NBC Nightly News will celebrate a celebrity (Sally Field, Ben Affleck, Eva Longoria Parker, Usher, and Will Ferrell) and their personal commitment to their important cause in their lives as part of the network’s “Making a Difference” segment.

On last night’s segment, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker discussed how having an older sister with a mental disability helped cultivate her passion for helping others. Which is exactly what she’s doing this days through her non-profit foundation, Eva’s Heroes, which provides services to children with special needs.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

go out this morning to Ellen Tressel, who’s recovering from heart surgery.

All reports are that things went fine, and that she’s doing well. Looking forward to hearing that she’s on her way home in the new family convertible.

We’re live at the Google IO keynote at Moscone West in San Francisco, where we expect to see the latest version of Android — called Froyo — announced any second now. We hope. Only one way to find out. Join us after the break to get it all as it happens.

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by Agence France-Presse

U.S. climate envoy Todd SternWASHINGTON – The lead U.S. climate negotiator said Tuesday it was politically unrealistic for the next treaty to impose global targets for emission cuts, amid deep divisions between rich and developing nations.

Special envoy Todd Stern said a better model was the “bottom-up architecture” proposed by Australia during last year’s Copenhagen summit, in which each nation submits details of its own actions to the United Nations.

“No across-the-board, top-down target would be acceptable at this stage to most developing countries and, indeed, it would not work well for us either,” Stern said at The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

“The notion that you’re going to negotiate some across-the-board target with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa and many other countries … is not that likely.”

Over 190 nations are negotiating a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol to fight climate change, which U.N. scientists warn could bring growing disasters and threaten entire species if left unchecked.

The Kyoto Protocol had set a target of industrialized nations cutting emissions blamed for global warming by an average of 5 percent by the end of 2012 from 1990 levels, with a corresponding figure calculated for each country. The United States was the only major nation to reject the treaty, arguing it was unfair because it made no demands of fast-growing emerging economies such as China—now the top carbon emitter. 

President Barack Obama reversed course when taking office by seeking action on climate change.

But Stern, who helped negotiate Kyoto under former president Bill Clinton, said he was mindful of the political lessons from that experience. 

“We sort of came into this with a sense that the way we did Kyoto didn’t work so well,” Stern said.  “We negotiated the target in Kyoto not only before there was any law, but before there was any foundation of domestic support” for legislation, he added.

The U.S. Senate just last week took up a bill that would set up the first nationwide plan to curb carbon emissions, although individual states have taken similar initiatives.

“It is enormously important for our international leverage and credibility that we pass strong legislation,” Stern said. “If the United States means to assert leadership, it needs to act like a leader.”

Yet he cautioned that the roadblocks to reaching a final agreement “wouldn’t disappear” even if the United States approved climate-change legislation.

China and other major developing nations have argued that wealthy countries bear historic responsibility for climate change and have balked at any legally binding targets, particularly without firmer U.S. action.

India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, said on a visit to Beijing earlier this month that prospects for a breakthrough in time for the next major climate meeting in December were “very, very remote.” Ramesh said talks in the Mexican resort of Cancun may produce a political statement expanding on the Copenhagen accord but would not yield an agreement.

The Copenhagen Accord calls for nations to work together to stave off warming to 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels.
But voluntary pledges registered under the deal put the Earth on track for increases of 3.5 to 4.0 degrees Celsius (6.3 to 7.2 Fahrenheit).

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Google owns the world’s largest online advertising network, something that helped it become one of the most powerful and richest tech companies in the world. But its position also made it a target for government regulators all over the world. While it managed to steer clear of trouble so far, it looks like its luck may be out… (read more)

Nos hacemos eco de una noticia que publica Autocar, sobre el modelo de bajo coste que Fiat ha lanzado para el mercado latinoamericano, el Fiat Uno, que llegaría al mercado Europeo a finales de 2011. Un movimiendo del todo lógico, además se fabricará en Zastava (Serbia) donde Fiat tiene una planta.

El Fiat Uno tiene un aspecto original, y completaría la gama de Fiat en el lugar que actualmente ocupa el Punto Classic, es decir, entre el Panda y el Punto EVO. Además se espera que salga al mercado con un precio propio de un modelo de bajo coste (un segmento que está cosechando muchos adeptos) dentro del segmento B.

Para este desarrollo Fiat invertirá cerca de 150 millones de euros, y el Fiat Uno llegará a Europa antes de lo pensado, puesto que en el Plan de negocios de Fiat se esperaba que este compacto llegará al mercado europeo en 2012, incluso continúa en el aire la posible llegada al mercado americano.

Vía | Autoblog.it